Iowa Moves on More Restrictive Abortion Ban

Iowa lawmakers moved forward a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday.

Using a procedural maneuver, proponents of the bill were able to force the bill out of the Senate Government Oversight Committee, where it had stalled and was considered dead. The move sends the bill to the full Senate for a vote next week, the newspaper reported.

The bill would limit abortions after the 20th week unless a mother’s life was in “immediate danger.”

The proposed law would prevent Iowa from the becoming the “late-term abortion capital of the Midwest,” said Jenifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life.

“We are not interested in simply offering 'safer abortions,'” she said. “We know that for each abortion a life is lost. That is not acceptable."

Bowen said such abortions are most often sought by women who didn't realize their pregnancy earlier, had difficulty arranging an abortion, or are afraid to tell parents or partners they are pregnant.